Over at Vox Nova there is a good post at United to the Way. I was not quite sure what some of background issues were behind it till I read the comments. I chime in under JH.
However his post reminded me of one that a Baptist Minister in Baton Rouge wrote a few months back. See The anti-poverty forum – spoken insights and the unspoken question at Live the Trinity.
Looking at these post reminded of the numerous insights that a Episcopal Lay person had at Sunday Jeremiad: Petty Prophets of the Blue Beast Let me quote from that some:
None of this means that the church and the clergy don’t have a political role to play — but it does mean that they need to think differently about how to play it. The job of a bishop isn’t to make statements about the minimum wage or the Iraq war. It’s to help the clergy in his or her diocese form communities that produce dynamic, committed and intelligent laypeople who will shape political debates on these and many other matters. A bishop isn’t here to inject Christian values into public policy debates; a bishop is here to inject mature, thoughtful and committed Christians into public life. The Diocese of Long Island shouldn’t be taking stands on the minimum wage; it should be producing people who transform the life of the region at every level of engagement.
Now I do not go that far since I suspect my thinking of Bishop is a tad different. I think the Bishops need to be involved to some degree. The problems is when it gets into policy minutia. Still he has point to some degree. I of course think Bishops need to speak out but there is a big picture.
He then says:
To mistake an ideology or a social model for the transcendent and always surprising (and irritating!) Kingdom of God is, technically speaking, the sin of idolatry. It is to worship the work of our own hands. What makes it worse is that to some degree in the mainline churches we have replaced faith in the scripturally based and historically rooted doctrines and values of the Christian heritage with faith in progressive social thought.
Instead of proclaiming a gospel of salvation that still brings lost sinners streaming through the doors (ask the Pentecostals and evangelicals who have continued to grow even as we shrink) we issue statements urging the federal government to fulfill its contributions to the Millennium Development Goals and to raise the minimum wage. They preach and plant churches; we have professional development workshops for diocesan employees.
Well that is right too!! Of course the TEC is often a model of what gives some Catholics the hives when we hear "Social Justice" because they are a prime example of not being balanced at the current time.
So the Catholic is right is that Social Justice cannot be mocked. The Baptist is right is there are certain unspoken questions not being asked and perhaps alluding too the clannish nature of Social Justice. Finally the Episcopal is right in showing the big picture.
So I agree with the preferential option for the poor but what that does that mean. As the saying goes in Central and South America the Catholic Church opted for the Poor and the Poor opted for the Pentecostals. Ditto for the mainline Protestant groups who are in a similar situation. It seems though we are "for the poor" we seem to not be noticing their reaction.
In eessence all three are right. One problem with Social Justice is there appears to be a enormous amount of group think. It has an amazing ability not to be that self critical. See the Baptist point of view above.
When one looks at New Orleans for example one sees the urgent need to ask what exactly went wrong and do we need too look at new ideas.
Part of the problem there of course is because of past sins of racism some Social Justice folks did not speak out against the corruption and bad ideas of the "new black leadership" and factions. When I see former Mayor Morial of NOLA on the Sunday News Shows representing the Urban League I just shake my head. What in the heck does he have to offer!! What successful model was he to now lead the Urban League? Oh well that is another rant.
Three thoughts on Social Justice from today from Catholic and two Protestant Faith Communities.
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